The fallout from a 28-year-old hunting trip is once again spilling onto the big screen, and Salman Khan’s legal team is pulling no punches. On Tuesday, the superstar’s representatives issued a strict cease-and-desist notice to the makers of Kala Hiran: The Battle for Legacy, demanding an immediate halt to the film’s release and the complete retraction of all promotional materials.
The dispute ignited after the filmmakers dropped a first-look poster featuring a heavily built man holding a sniper rifle in a forest, notably wearing a firoza stone bracelet. This specific turquoise jewelry piece is a visual trademark universally associated with the actor.
Producer Amit Jani of Jani Firefox Media Private Limited took the fight public on social media, sharing screenshots of the legal warning. He accused Khan of using his immense industry influence to intimidate an independent production crew into abandoning the project. Khan’s lawyers are aggressively pushing back against the film’s scheduled June 20 teaser launch, arguing the production relies on a “gross violation of personality and publicity rights” and threatens to prejudice ongoing court proceedings, according to a detailed report by The Indian Express outlining the legal strategy.
The core tension traces directly back to the infamous 1998 blackbuck poaching incident in Jodhpur during the shooting of Hum Saath Saath Hain. The incident deeply angered the Bishnoi community, a sect fiercely dedicated to wildlife conservation. The fallout resulted in a 2018 court conviction for Khan, who is currently out on bail, and sparked a highly dangerous, years-long feud with the Lawrence Bishnoi gang that culminated in a verified 2024 shooting outside Khan’s Mumbai residence.
Defending the project, Jani claims Kala Hiran is strictly about the Bishnoi community’s environmental commitment rather than a direct hit piece on the actor, a defense he reiterated while speaking to India Today regarding the intimidation claims.
Director Bharat S. Shrinate also refused to back down. Referencing the backlash he faced during his previous project, Udaipur Files, Shrinate stated the experience taught him how to fight industry pressure and confirmed the production team fully intends to answer Khan’s legal notice in court.